


Let Me Get Close To You

by guavaaajellyfics



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fluff, bestfriends to lovers, pinic date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:19:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26360275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guavaaajellyfics/pseuds/guavaaajellyfics
Summary: Lucy found herself curled up on her bed, sobbing into the pink comforter. Her chest felt so tight, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She only wrapped her arms around herself tighter. It was all she could do at this point. Thoughts of Natsu washed through her over and over again, reminding her that they could only ever be friends. It was painful but she had to come to terms with it. She’d rather look away from the sun, than have it burn her from afar.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 101
Collections: Fairy Tail Reverse Bang 2020





	Let Me Get Close To You

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Fairy Tail Reverse Big Bang 2020 as a part of Team 12. This was inspired by the art by @phoneboxfairy on Tumblr. Be sure you go check that out. I really enjoyed making this, so I hope y'all enjoy reading this!

The pang in Lucy’s chest was far more intense than she anticipated when she saw that brilliant grin on Natsu’s face. That smile was what drew her to him, after all. It was brighter than the sun and full of life, full of everything Lucy has been looking for all her existence. It felt as if her heart was torn right out of her chest when she made a silent vow to keep her distance. She wasn’t going to put herself through the agony of watching him from afar anymore. The mission they were to complete together was going to be her last one with him. She knew he’d never see her as anything more than a friend and she wasn’t sure if she could take it any longer. Lucy did her best to return the smile he gave her, but some things just could never be the same.

Now, Natsu was dense, but he wasn’t stupid. He noticed how Lucy has been distancing herself from him lately. She came up with a million excuses to not go with him on that mission, but Natsu persevered and managed to convince her to tag along. He had hoped that another mission would maybe remedy the rift between them, but it still wasn’t enough.

“Hey, Luce! Let’s have dinner at the guild! I heard Mira is cooking this time,” he offered. As much as he and Happy ate (far more than Lucy), they always bonded over meals. He figured this would help with the situation.

Lucy only gave him a small smile and shook her head. “I’ll pass. I’m actually pretty tired.”

“Oh, come on, Lucy,” he pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest like a little kid. “I wanna hang out with you some more. Please?”

Lucy would’ve found it endearing, well… She still found it so endearing. Natsu was adorable on many occasions, but at that moment, Lucy wanted to be alone, to be away from Natsu.

“I’m really, really tired, Natsu. I want to go home. I’ll see you around.”

It pained her to see the eagerness in his eyes fade as she rejected his offer a second time. But if Natsu was good at anything, it was persistence and finding other ways around a certain problem. He instantly lit up and offered once more, “How about we eat at your place? Come on, Luce. I promise I’ll be super clean this time. I’ll even clean up after myself.”

“Please, Natsu. I don’t want to deal with this. I really need to go home. By myself. Good night.” She headed straight for her apartment, not looking back as she took one step at a time, away from Natsu.

It honestly was hurting her to have to reject Natsu, but she really was tired of chasing after something that she could never reach. He would always see her as a friend, his best friend. Lucy had accepted that, and she was tired of having to be put through heartache after heartache. She was tired of pining in the corner while he remained oblivious to her emotions. 

She took a quick shower that night, briskly dried her hair and got dressed for bed. Time seemed to slow down as she sat on her bed and stared at the floor. Her mind wandered off to fond memories that were now more bitter than sweet. One tear escaped her eye, but she couldn’t find the strength to wipe it away. It didn’t take long for the next tear to fall, and soon enough, Lucy found herself curled up on her bed, sobbing into the pink comforter. Her chest felt so tight, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She only wrapped her arms around herself tighter. It was all she could do at this point. Thoughts of Natsu washed through her over and over again, reminding her that they could only ever be friends. It was painful but she had to come to terms with it. She’d rather look away from the sun, than have it burn her from afar.

Natsu made it to the guild, scratching his head at Lucy’s behaviour. Yes, she never let him in her apartment, but she never acted that way. He could only feel the distance between them growing and he didn’t know what started it in the beginning. They were best friends. They were closer than anyone in the guild. This only raised more and more questions.

He hadn’t noticed that he was zoning out until Mirajane set down a plate of ribs before him. Normally, Natsu would barrel his way through the meal, but he just didn’t have the appetite for it. Now, Mira was observant and Natsu’s lack of enthusiasm caught her eye instantly.

“Anything wrong, Natsu?” she asked, already guessing what the problem could be.

He looked up at Mira, eyebrows furrowed, and asked, “Did something happen to Lucy recently?”

She smiled inwardly, “No, not that I can recall. Why? Is there a problem?” Mira knew just what the problem was, but a few little nudges wouldn’t hurt.

“Lucy has been… weird lately.” he explained. “I tried inviting her on a mission, but she didn’t want to go. I mean, she came with me, but she didn’t want to at first. Then today, she wouldn’t come to the guild with me, and she didn’t even let me in her apartment.”

Mira raised an eyebrow at that. “Don’t enter her apartment either way.”

Natsu choked on a small piece of meat he had popped in his mouth. “Yeah, but she was being weird about it this time. I don’t get it. She and I are supposed to be friends.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be just friends anymore,” Mira shrugged.

“Wait, why doesn’t she want to be friends anymore?! Did she tell you something?” Natsu whined, feeling more and more hopeless.

A laugh came from beside him. He looked over to the owner of the voice to see that it was Levy. She raised both her hands in defense, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, Natsu, but I gotta tell you, Lu-chan is, uhm… going through a few problems.”

“Problems? What problems?” Natsu shifted his attention from Mira to Levy. If there was someone Lucy really confided in, it was Levy. Levy knew practically anything and everything about her.

Levy now looked a little embarrassed. Whatever Lucy’s problem was must be pretty big to elicit such a reaction. Levy glanced around for a moment and leaned a little closer to whisper, “Lucy is, uhm… A little heartbroken.”

Natsu gave Levy a confused look. “Heartbroken? She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. I should know. I’ve been with her almost all the time.”

Levy only responded with a shrug. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Gajeel and Pantherlily approaching her, telling her it was time to go home. She apologized for having to cut the conversation short, wished him good luck with Lucy, and headed off. Natsu sat there more frustrated than ever. He only got vague answers from both Mira and Levy which only made him more confused. He figured he should just go over to Fairy Hills to pick Happy up from Wendy and try to figure things out along the way.

Natsu took his time as he walked to the girls’ dorm. He took a longer route, passing through the park. He saw the cherry blossom trees along the way. It brought back so many memories, too many in fact. He remembered the night Lucy was too sick to leave her apartment when the rainbow cherry blossoms were in bloom and he uprooted a tree for her. He remembered seeing the look on her face as the tree passed her window. He lurked nearby to catch her reaction, thinking it would be full of shock, only to find a soft fondness in her eyes. He remembered how the lights reflected in her irises, giving them an ethereal glow.

He remembered every moment since then, how her smile seemed brighter and her eyes seemed livelier. Natsu loved looking into her eyes and basking in the happiness she radiated. It shone through her smile, the smile that seemed to hold answers he never knew he was looking for. He made a silent promise then to protect that smile.

That’s when it hit him.

‘What if…’ he pondered to himself, ‘What if Lucy is in love with me? Does she love me? She couldn’t. She only sees me as a friend.’ Mira and Levy’s words came flooding back in. ‘She doesn’t want to be friends anymore. No, Mira said she doesn’t want to be ‘just’ friends anymore. Levy said she’s heartbroken. Could it be?’

Natsu stopped in his tracks. He needed to check. He had to confirm. He immediately ran for Lucy’s apartment.

He carefully climbed up to her window and peeked in. It didn’t take him much to spot her. She was laying in bed, her eyes trained to her ceiling. She seemed to notice his presence and looked over at him. Lucy jumped upon processing that he was really outside her window. She clambered off her bed, catching her breath while Natsu climbed through.

“Natsu! What are you doing here?” She gritted her teeth at the sight of him. Lucy really did not want to be dealing with this type of situation at that moment.

“Go on a date with me.”

Lucy felt a wave of emotions wash over her in an instant. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. This was really something she didn’t see coming. Her head spun with confusion as she searched Natsu’s eyes for any sign of mischief but found none.Lucy frowned as she asked hesitantly, “Go on a date… with you?”

He nodded in reply. “Under the cherry blossom tree. Let’s have a picnic date tomorrow.”

“Why?” Her confusion only deepened. Well, that and her inner turmoil. Lucy had vowed to distance herself from him and now he wanted to go on a date with her. This raised her hopes once again, but she was scared to give in.

“I just…” Now, Natsu was panicking as well. If he were to assume she did like him and he was wrong, he might lose his best friend forever. He figured a little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “You haven’t been going out much. And we haven’t really hung out in a while. I miss ya, Luce.”

Lucy’s heart swelled at his words. The look on his face didn’t help either. He looked so crestfallen. She was actually surprised that he noticed she was actually distancing herself. Lucy thought for a moment and asked, “Does it really have to be tomorrow?”

Natsu nodded, picking at the edges of his scarf. His eyes darted from Lucy to different points of the room. His stomach churned at the thought of going out on a date with Lucy, but the feeling wasn’t unwelcome. Natsu has made many impulsive decisions in the past, but there was no choice he felt more sure of than this one, than asking Lucy out.

“I guess a picnic sounds nice,” she sighed, rubbing her face. She felt like she was going to regret that, but she’d deal with that problem when it came.

He pulled her in for a tight hug, feeling lighter than he did five minutes ago. Natsu pulled back with that toothy grin of his. “Thanks, Luce. I promise. You won’t regret it. I’ll see you tomorrow!” He quickly scrambled out of the window, hopping off the way he normally did, finally leaving Lucy to her own thoughts.

In an instant, Lucy started panicking. Questions ran through her mind like, ‘Why did he do that?’ or ‘What just happened?.’ Lucy groaned as she flopped onto her bed. She pulled the covers over her body and tried to force the thoughts out of her head. By the time she had fallen asleep, she finally convinced herself that this was just the usual friendly Natsu thing.

The next morning, Natsu showed up at Lucy’s door, which was a big surprise for her. Natsu was surprised as well, but not at where he appeared, but at how Lucy looked. She looked, well… different. Actually, he couldn’t really see any difference, but there was something so different about her that made it feel like he was seeing her for the first time.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, they finally left the apartment and walked through the city. Lucy asked Natsu if he had brought anything to eat. His expression morphed from flustered to downright ashamed in less than a second. Lucy rolled her eyes and steered them off to a bakery and bought some cookies and juice before heading off to the cherry blossom tree.

Natsu and Lucy found a nice spot with a good view of the whole park, settling there against the trunk. It was awkward at first. This wasn’t an easy thing for either of them. Lucy had many things to say, as did Natsu, but neither chose to speak. It wasn’t till Lucy pulled out a cookie from the package and offered it to Natsu that the silence broke.

“So, how have you been?” she asked hesitantly.

He chuckled softly, taking the cookie from her hand. “You and I are always together; I’m sure you know how I am.”

“Okay, give me a question, then.”

His eyes scanned the park for a moment, looking at the people walking by, “Have you gone on picnics before?”

“Yes, before my mom died. Both she and my dad would take me to the lake near our home and we’d lay a blanket down on the grass and eat different kinds of food.” she reminisced, fondness and longing hidden within her eyes.

Natsu just couldn’t stop looking at her. “Igneel took me on my first picnic. I was really young then. It wasn’t as fancy, but we had lots of fun. Did you guys do anything fun?”

Lucy looked over at him to which Natsu quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere. “Yeah!” she exclaimed, remembering what she and her parents played when they went out. “The color game!”

He gave her a confused look though he could feel his heart beat so much, he was sure it was going to burst out his chest, “The color game?”

She nodded enthusiastically, “So, we all agree on a color then take turns naming things we see with that color. The one who could name more objects wins.”

“That’s simple,” he scoffed, a cocky grin forming on his face. Lucy laughed at that and returned a smile of her own. This one wasn’t forced like before. This was more genuine, more carefree. It was more like the Lucy he knew.

She challenged, “Fine. The winner of each round gets a cookie.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Lucy looked around and observed the people walking around. There were too many colors that picking one would be quite the challenge. She figured since it was the first round, she should get an idea of what colors she would be seeing. Lucy turned to Natsu with a small grin, “Okay. I pick red.”

Natsu turned to the view before them, his eyes scanning for anything red. It was a fairly common color, so it shouldn’t have been as hard as it was. He managed to spot a lady in a deep red dress walking by and quickly called it out.

“That person’s dress.” he turned back to Lucy, his grin wide and eager. Lucy looked over to the woman and nodded, confirming his claim. She glanced around a bit more till she found her object.

“The strawberry on that cake.”

“No, that doesn’t count!” Natsu pouted. He had seen the strawberry earlier but he figured it was quite of a stretch, so he ignored it.

“It does! Anything of the color we agreed on. A strawberry is red, so it counts.”

The giggle that escaped from her lips sent Natsu’s heart beating so fast, Jet would envy it. The way her eyes sparkled as she smiled didn’t help his case after all. The only thing going through Natsu’s head was just how he wanted to be the one to draw that smile out of her, to be the one to make her laugh like this. He wanted this every day for the rest of his life. Lucy turned her gaze back to the crowd before them, but Natsu’s eyes never left the girl beside him.

It didn’t take long for Lucy to notice how Natsu had gotten silent all of a sudden and turned to look over at him. Her eyes held nothing but concern as she searched his eyes for any sign of any distressing emotions behind them. She found none.

“Natsu?”

He instantly snapped back to reality and quickly recovered, turning his head away from Lucy and looking around. His eyes scanned for anything red, continuing the game, but his mind replayed Lucy laughing and smiling with the sun illuminating her hair.

Natsu did his best to focus on playing, but really, he found it so hard to look anywhere other than Lucy’s face. Her smile was so bright and precious, he never had seen anything like it.

Little did he know that Lucy could feel her own heart fluttering in her chest every time he laid his eyes on her, every time he nudged her with his shoulder, every time he laughed along. It was something she had longed to keep forever. It was getting harder and harder for Lucy to put a distance now. She loved being around him, she loved how he knew just how to make her laugh. She loved every little thing he did. She loved him.

She loved him.

Lucy felt her stomach flip at the sudden realization. She stopped laughing and looked down at the cookies and saw that there was one last cookie left and the game had ended in a tie.

“So, one more game?” she asked, clearing her throat. Her heart sank at the thought of this date coming to an end, but then again, this was just a friendly thing. This wasn’t a date. It was just them hanging out- as friends.

Natsu shook his head. “No, you can have it.”

She chuckled softly, “Okay, how about we share it?”

“Good idea--”

They both looked down and saw that their hands were touching. They had both reached for the cookie unaware that the other had planned on doing so. So now, their hands were touching. A slight brush, but it was more than words could say. Their eyes met once more and that’s when everything started falling into place. Neither knew who leaned in first, but all they knew was that they were closing the distance between them. The space had gotten smaller and smaller until…

“Natsu!!!”

The two could’ve sworn they jumped apart. Natsu looked over to the owner of the voice to see that it was just Happy. He remembered that he hadn’t fetched Happy from Fairy Hills the night before. Natsu began apologizing profusely, saying that he’d go and buy a lot of fish for him to make up for forgetting him. Lucy tugged at her clothes nervously, smoothing wrinkles that weren’t there as an attempt to look busy. Her face felt hotter than usual and her head was lighter. She quickly began gathering their things, picking up the packages on the ground as Natsu continued to chat with Happy.

Happy was pleased with Natsu’s apologiesand said that he would go back to Fairy Hills for a while. He said that Erza and Wendy were going fishing and he wanted to tag along. Natsu told Happy to go have fun and that he’d walk Lucy home.

Once the Exceed had flown away, Natsu turned to Lucy and saw that she had packed up their things and was ready to head back to the apartment. The walk back was silent and now back to its initial awkwardness. Natsu wanted to break the air once more, but he didn’t know just what to say. There was too much and too little that could be said all at once. He simply walked beside her, his hand brushing her own, trying to maybe scrape up as much contact as he could. He hadn’t realized just how much he had wanted to hold Lucy’s hand all this time.

Of course, Lucy caught on to Natsu’s little brushes. Now, she was conflicted beyond belief. She could take his hand, but what would that mean? They had almost kissed earlier, and now Natsu wanted to take her hand. She took a deep breath. She figured one more leap of faith wouldn’t hurt and she took his hand.

The heat in his palm spread across her own and up her arm, blanketing her with his comforting warmth. Lucy couldn’t help but smile. Natsu noticed it and smiled as well. The walk was still silent, but sometimes, words weren’t necessary.

They finally reached her apartment and they let go of each others’ hands. The apartment was their own little fort, the one place where they felt comfortable and safe, but at that moment, both have never felt more awkward.

Lucy finally found it in her to speak once again. “Hey, I know I said no to dinner yesterday. Do you… still want to have dinner here?” Natsu smiled widely at that.

They cooked the meal together, settling to eat in the kitchen since they were both too lazy to bring the plates all the way to the dining room only to bring them back. They talked about plans they made for the future, maybe some things they were working on as well like Natsu’s new fighting techniques and Lucy’s book. Laughter filled the kitchen as they exchanged lighthearted jokes and lingering touches. Both could never say it, but things had changed between them now. There was much more- something much more than friendship. It was evident in the way Natsu watched Lucy’s lips as she spoke, committing the curl of her lips to memory. It was evident in the way Lucy leaned in to every brush of their hands against each other. The tension filled the room and how they basked in it.

They both wished the day could last a little longer, but eventually, the dinner ran out and Natsu figured he had to leave. He looked at Lucy with nothing but longing and admiration in his eyes. He’d spent the whole day hoping to maybe find answers about her behavior, instead he found answers to questions he never thought to ask himself. They all pointed to one conclusion: Natsu was in love with Lucy. He loved Lucy. He loved her and she needed to know.

It was a risky move, but Natsu was always one for taking risks. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. He pulled back to see the redness spread all along her face. Had he messed up? Did she not like that? He started panicking for a moment only to be calmed the moment Lucy grabbed him by his scarf and closed the gap between them, sealing their lips with a long, lingering kiss.

Emotions exploded like fireworks, everything they could say started pouring out with the way their lips moved in synchronization. They fit so well together and they’d never realized it before.

Finally, Lucy pulled away. Not too far. Just enough for her to whisper.

“Stay.”

And so Natsu stayed.

They laid in Lucy’s bed, under her covers, pressed against each other as they whispered the night away.

“How long have you known?” she asked.

He chuckled softly, twirling a lock of her golden hair in his finger. “That you liked me? Just yesterday, actually.”

Lucy giggled, nudging him with her nose. “No, that you liked me. When did you realize that you liked me?”

He hummed, thinking for a moment before pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t know. In a way, I guess I always have. How about you?”

“Every time I try to think of when it might’ve started, there’s always something that says I’ve liked you for much longer than I thought,” she replied, yawning softly after speaking.

“Poetic as always, huh, Luce?” he smiled softly, holding her close against him. “Sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”

And with that, Lucy fell asleep. Her dreams were filled with nothing but warmth, and happiness, and home. Natsu. Her dreams were filled with Natsu.

She woke up hours later, not to the sun spilling through the window as always. No, she woke up to a pair of soft lips against her own. Lucy couldn’t help but smile.

“Good morning.”

Lucy opened her eyes to be met with a familiar pair of warm irises looking softly onto her. She reached up and cupped Natsu’s cheek. “Good morning to you, too.” She leaned back in and kissed him once more, letting the kiss linger. She wanted this to last as long as she could.

Natsu pulled away, a small smile playing across his mouth. “Wanna go to the guild?”

She shook her head. “No… I wanna stay here.” Lucy cupped his cheek, pressing a small kiss onto the corner of his lips, “Let’s stay a little longer. Please?”

“You got it, Lu--”

“Natsu!!!”

Natsu and Lucy bolted upright to see a pouting Happy outside the window. Lucy pushed the window open and let the Exceed in.

“You weren’t at home,” Happy whined, snuggling in between Natsu and Lucy.

“Well, you see, Happy--”

“Did you two finally admit that you like each other?”

Natsu and Lucy exchanged glances and looked back at Happy. Lucy sighed, shaking her head in amusement. This cat was too clever for his own good. She leaned into Natsu again, holding Happy in her arms as she suggested, “Let’s all just stay here all day. I missed you both.”

“Yes!” Natsu laughed, snuggling against Lucy and wrapping her in his arms. He never felt like they belonged anywhere else than in each other’s arms.


End file.
